Category: Book Review

Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
Edition: October 9th 2014 by Headline
Goodreads description: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father. Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and — finally — a reunion in the city where they first met.
My rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5
Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery

I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be able to find words good enough, that mean enough- that are enough – to describe this book. But it’s definitely worth my attempt. It’s worth a lot more than that.

I’m not even sure where to start. So I guess, being the logical person that I am, I’m going to start at the end.

When I finished this book, I placed it between my knees and then hugged it (and my knees). I then tried to hold back the tears as I faced my laptop – with Skype open, on a call to my lovely boyfriend, and smiled.

And how many times had they all been stuffed in here together? Dad, with his newspaper folded under his arm, always standing near the door, ready to bolt; Mom, wearing a thin smile, seesawing between amusement and impatience with the rest of them; the twins, grinning as they elbowed each other; and Lucy, the youngest, tucked in a corner, always trailing behind the rest of the family like an ellipsis at the end of a sentence.

And now here she was, in a box that seemed too tiny to hold so many memories, with the walls pressing in all around her and nobody to come to her rescue.

This book is a perfect description of long distance relationships – the inconstant, uneven but definite motion of rushed, loud and exciting hellos and drawn out, quiet and tear speckled goodbyes.

With nothing in between but mere words that don’t fill the gap between two people in love nearly enough – spoken into a phone, typed into a computer or written onto the back of a postcard…

And when they finally meet up after long months of being alone, just being together feels like so much, it feels like waking up from a sleep that was way too long…something this book demonstrates amazingly.

After reading so much romance – Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda followed by How To Be Bad followed by Let It Snow – I thought I was done with reading romance for a while. But I was so, so wrong. Because whith romance books, there’s an extremely fine line between too-much-cheese and overwhelming beauty.

And I’m very happy to tell you, this one was pretty far over the overwhelming beauty line.

In fact, it just made me want to pick up all of my favorite romance books and read the most important parts all over again. Which I think I’ll do in a second.

This one meant so much to be. I’m in a long distance relationship myself, and not only did I completely understand everything this book talked about, but I really related to it. The longing, the missing, the wishing, the being across an ocean. And weirdly enough, me and my boyfriend are across the atlantic just as Lucy and Owen are.

And it’s so true. Everything in this book is so true and pure. But the thing that stands out is this:

Home isn’t a place.

Home is who the heart finds. And whether you’re standing on the top of a highrise in New York City, or on the Point Zero star in Paris – you’ll always feel more at home next to the person you love.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

P.S. I wrote this review as a draft, yesterday. Since then, I have not started another book, instead I’ve been reading my favorite parts of all the romance books I own. Carry On, Night Owls, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour…I can’t get enough love.

P.P.S. No one look at my goodreads. I will have to kill anyone who knows about the amount of romance novels I’ve just added to my TBR list.

Review: Let It Snow by Myracle, Green & Johnson

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

Book: Let It Snow
By: Lauren Myracle, John Green &  Maureen Johnson
Edition Published: 2014By: Penguin Books UK
Goodreads description: An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.
My rating:★★★★
Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery

Let It Snow is most easily described as hot chocolate. Seriously. It’s warm, sweet and comforting. Perhaps a little unoriginal as in the fact that it’s a pretty classic love story. But it’s so cute you don’t even care anymore.

The Jubilee Express
I turned off the water only when it started to go cold. When I emerged into the thick stream, I saw that my clothes were gone. Someone had extracted them from the bathroom without my noticing. In their place were two large towels, a pair of sweatpants, a sweatshirt, socks, and slippers. The socks were thick and pink, and the slippers were white fluffy booties, very worn.
I grabbed for the nearest item, which was a sweatshirt, and held it up to my naked self, even though I was cleary alone in the bathroom now. Someone had come in. Someone had been lurking around, removing my clothes and replacing them with new, dry ones. Had Stuart let himself in while I was showering? Had he seen me in my natural state? Did I even care at this point?

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle
I nodded my head and put the car into drive and pressed the accelerator. The tires spun, and then we shot off, the falling snow alive in the headlights. I couldn’t see the curbs of the road, let alone the painted lines dividing the lanes, so I mostly just tried to stay between the mailboxes.
Grove Park is kind of a bowl, so to leave you have to drive up a very modest hill. JP and the Duke and I all grew up in the Grove Park subdivision, and I’ve driven up the hill in question thousands of times.
And so the potentiel problem did not even occur to me as we started to climb. But soon, I noticed that the amount of pressure I placed on the accelerator pedal did not in any way affect the speed at which we were going up the hill. I began to feel a tinge of dread.

The Patron Saint of Pigs
I missed Jeb so much.
Because our breakup, which was only a week old and as raw as an open wound, was my own stupid fault.
Because I’d written Jeb a (pathetic?) e-mail asking him please, please, please to meet me at Starbucks yesterday so we could talk. But he never showed up. Didn’t even call.
And because, after waiting at Starbucks for nearly two hours, I hated life and myself so much that I trudged across the parking lot to Fantastic Sam’s, where I tearfully told the stylist to lop my hair off and dye what was left of it pink.
Which she did, because why did she care if I committed hair suicide.

I expected this book to be at best, cheesy. I mean, the beautiful cover suggested otherwise, but the thought of a trio of three Christmas romances?

Complete cheese fest.

I mean, I’m a sucker for romance, but even I’ll admit that I thought this one would tip romantic over the edge.

I was so wrong. Although the entire book is based on three romances, there isn’t much…physical romance. Kissing, etc.

Which I found good. Because if it was too easy, too predictable, this book would have a lot less stars than I gave it.

This book was really, really lovely. Not outstanding, but creative and sweet. It’s a great one for any romance/YA/contemporary lovers! And of course, any lovers of John Green, Lauren Myracle and Maureen Johnson.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: How To Be Bad by Myracle, Lockhart & Mlynowski

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments

Book: How To Be Bad
By: Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart & Sarah Mlynowski
Edition published: 2015
By: Hot Key Books
Goodreads description: Jesse, Vicks and Mel couldn’t be more different. Jesse, a righteous Southern gal who’s as thoughtful as she is uptight, is keeping a secret that she knows will change her life forever. Vicks is a wild child: seemingly cool, calm and collected on the outside, but inside she’s furious at herself for being so anxious about her neglectful boyfriend. And Mel is the new girl in town. She’s already been dismissed as just another rich kid, but all she wants is to get over some of her fears and find some true friends.
My rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5
Amazon | Book Depository | Wordery

I loved this book.

I think it should actually be renamed to How To Be Freaking-Badass Awesome.

Seriously.

“I can’t believe she actually said, ‘We have a no-violence policy in the Jolly Roger.'” Mel giggles as we get into the elavator.
“We got thrown off a pirate ship!”
“I know!”
“Jack Sparrow, you are my kin!” I cry.
“We are so badass,” says Mel, wiggling.

Jesse, Mel and Vicks are just so amazing.

And E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle & Sarah Mlynowski are so freaking-badass awesome for writing it.

I think freaking-badass awesome is going to be a new couple of words in my dictionary, due to this book.

The girls in this book are so sassy but so lovable, it’s just so amazing. I love the positivity they give to each other, and themselves.

I love their undying, bomb-proof friendship. Yeah, everyone disagrees and everyone has little arguments, but Jesse & Vicks do more than anyone. But they’re also closer than many best friends are.

This is a great, mostly lighthearted easy read with some amazing lessons behind the words. It teaches you how to tolerate other people’s opinions and actually learn from them. It teaches you that not all is bad in the world, but not all is good either, and that’s alright.

And the thing closest to my heart? It teaches you that even though long distance relationships are so freaking tough, they’re definitely not impossible. With enough love and a lot of unbreakable bomb-proof-ness, it’s completely possible.

Especially when you have the right friends by your side.

I could also really relate to Jesse, Vicks & Mel. My friendship with Emma, owner of The Book Crunch, is similar in some ways. It’s sort of like Mel, Jesse & Vicks all mixed up and with less arguments.

Overall, this book is a must-read and must-have for teenage girl readers. It’s fun, lighthearted and very badass, but with more lying beneath the surface than I expected.

It’s actually a life lesson.

And before I go…this book needs to be made into a movie. It would be awesome. Freaking-badass awesome.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments

Book: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
By: Becky Albertalli
Edition published: 2015
By: Penguin Books UK
Goodreads description: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
My rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5
Amazon | Book depository | Wordery

I can already tell I’m going to be in a reading slump for the next couple of days, or at least take a while to get into How To Be Bad, the next book on my TBR list.

Because I couldn’t help but love Simon. I know he’s gay, but he’s so freaking awesomly adorable that I can’t help it.

And the way he writes – the way he writes about Blue – was so freaking perfect. And I feel like I have to write the word ‘freaking’ all the time just to portray my love for this book.

 FROM: hourtohour.notetonote@gmail.com
TO: bluegreen118@gmail.com
DATE: Nov 18 at 7:32 PM
SUBJECT: Re. Why why why?
So, I’m a little scared to read what I wrote to you last night. I’m glad I was cute and grammatical. I think you’re cute and grammatical, too. Anyway, I don’t know what the hell that was all about. Too much sugar yesteray, I guess. Sorry sorry sorry.
Yeah. I’m still so totally brain-dead. I don’t even want to think about how I did on my quizzes.
Don’t know much about reality TV? You mean your parents don’t make you watch it? Because mine do. And I bet you think I’m kidding.
You bring up a good point about our voices. I guess we would have to warp them so they sound like Darth Vader. Or we could just do other things instead of talking. I mean, I’m just saying.
-Your Zombie Jacques

I’m not going to lie, I expected this book to be just a little bit childish. Because it’s about bullying (due to sexuality), and I put ‘bullying’ under ‘children’. Because honestly, bullying is just so immature.

But this book really wasn’t childish. And the bullying didn’t remind me of children. In fact, the bullying was portrayed perfectly for that age group, it really was. What Becky wrote about is genuine, gets-under-the-skin bullying that people (apart from those affected) tend to not notice as much.

And the other thing is, this book is laced with the cutest emails I’ve ever read. Literally, the cutest. I love emailing, I love the excitement as if it’s actual mail. And two gay guys emailing who don’t know who each other is in real life? Almost as cute as oreos.

I also love the way this book does not discriminate against anyone. In my opinion, it’s utopia.

If you’re gay and struggling to come out, or if you’re trying to cope with bullying, this book is the one for you. And if you’re not any of the above, you really need to read this anyway. Because it explains how life should be, for us, all of us, all of the time.

Everything, everything about this book was just…perfect. Freaking perfect.

It even nearly forced me to vote for it on the Goodreads Choice Awards…because it is just such an adorably sweet love story…but I stick by my original choice, and went with All The Bright Places all the way.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments

Book: Library of Souls
By: Ransom Riggs
Edition Published: 2015
By: Quirk
Goodreads description: They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.
My rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5
Amazon UK | Amazon US | Wordery | Book Depository

As I have a lot to say about these books, I’m going to separate this review into two sections, starting with my thoughts on this book, then a bit about the series as a whole.

I loved the first book, I felt the action was severely lacking in the first half of Hollow City, and then I fell in love with Library of Souls.

Completely fell in love. It changed the series for me completely, from love to like to completely besotted.

Library of Souls has got to be my favorite book of this series. Speaking of which…here’s an extract;

One of the gaurds dragged Perplexus out of the crows and up to the door. Since I’d last seen him, his hair and beard had turned albaster white, his spine had curved, and deep wrinkles grooved his face. He’d spent too long away from his loop, and now his true age was beginning to catch up to him. Perplexus seemed about to open the door when he was struck by a fit of coughing. Once he’d regained his breath, he faced caul, drew in a snorting lungful of air, and spat a glistening wad of phlegm onto his cloak.
“You are an ignorant pig!” Perplexus cried.

If words are even enough to explain how much I loved this series, the best way I think to describe it would be to tell you what it proved to me.

It proved that books that have happy endings can still be amazing.

It also proved that it is possible for authors to enter author-dom with a fresh, never been done before, idea, and succeed. Not only succeed, but thrive. Completely thrive.

It mostly proved though, that this type of book can be one of the best series ever. There must have been a reason I purchased all these books with a certain degree of confidence. And I believe I was right to. They are the most strange but most fascinating books I’ve ever read. Definitely up there.

I would normally recommend books of a certain genre to certain people, but I would actually recommend this to any Young Adult readers.

There is a little bit of romance, just enough to keep me happy. There is a lot of action, it just doesn’t stop.

I still don’t have the words for this review, as you can probably tell.

I just can’t explain it with just 26 letters. It’s impossible.

So let’s just finish this review by saying this:

This series is one I am proud to keep on my shelves. And definitely one I will not be removing anytime soon.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Book: Hollow City
By: Ransom Riggs
Edition Published: 2014
By: Quirk Books
Goodreads description: Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters.
And only one person can help them – but she’s trapped in the body of a bird.
The extraordinary journey that began in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner. And before Jacob can deliver the peculiar children to safety, he must make an important decision about his love for Emma Bloom.
Amazon | Wordery | Book Depository

I really am enjoying this series, but I am sorry to say I didn’t like Hollow City quite as much as Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into the first book, but it took me almost half of the book to get into Hollow City.

Now, this could be due to me being too busy to really enjoy the first half, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. For a start, even when I’m busy, I manage to make time for books I enjoy.

Really, I’d been dreaming of such adventures since I was small. Back then I believed in destiny, and believed in it absolutely, with every inch and strand of my little kid heart. I’d felt it like an itch in my chest while listening to my grandfather’s extraordinary stories. One day that will be me. What felt like an obligation now had been a promise back then – that one day I would escape my little town and live an extraordinary life, as he had done; and that one day, like Grandpa Portman, I would do something that mattered. He used to say to me: “You’re going to be a great man, Yakob. A very great man.”

But I really do love a lot of things about this book. I’ve never read a book like it, and I’m not sure I ever will. It’s a completely unique series, and extremely imaginative.

The pictures really bring this book to life. They portray perfectly the story, and I was shocked to find out that the pictures are chosen to fit the novel, rather than the other way round as it was for Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.

I love the characters, too. And (I’ve heard a few people say this) I love Emma. In the first book, I didn’t really take a fancy to her. I think it was the simple fact that she loved Jacob’s Grandpa, and now loves Jacob. It a) creeped me out and b) I felt like she was manipulating Jacob, like she loved him because of his Grandpa, not because of who Jacob is.

I’m not sure if it’s meant to come across like that, but it did (and still slightly does) to me. Other than that, I do like Emma as a character. I also love Olive, she’s just so sweet, like a little kid who isn’t so young (which is what she is, really).

But I don’t like any of the characters more than Jacob. He is right to be the main character, and I love seeing everything from his point of view. He’s sweet, but also has some interesting inner battles. I find his character amazingly caring, but his love for Emma is the cutest thing. Because he loves Emma for who she is. And above everything, he really cares about her. And I can tell he would do anything for her.

☽☽☽☽
4 out of 5 moons

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments

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Book: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

By: Ransom Riggs

Edition published: 2011

By: Quirk Books

Goodreads description: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Purchase on Amazon UK: Link

Purchase on Amazon US: Link

My rating:☽☽☽☽☽/5

Jacob’s grandad has always told him stories. But he never thought those stories were real – just figments of his grandad’s imagination to amuse his young grandson. Now, only now, when a tragedy means Jacob is left alone, does he begin to unravel the mysteries behind the stories and photographs he hasn’t seen since he was little.

I didn’t go far, just around the perimeter of the neat yard in a slow shuffle, watching the sky, clear now, a billion stars spread across it. Stars, too, were time travelers. How many of those ancient points of light were the last echoes of suns now dead? How many had been born but their light not yet come this far? If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone? I had always known the sky was full of mysteries – but not until now had I realized how full of them the earth was.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children is now proudly on my list of 5 star books.

I was lucky enough to pick up this book at a bargain £2, which made me read it a lot sooner than I had expected, as it was pretty far down my TBR list! I have to say, I’m extremely glad I got my hands on this book now, instead of next year or later. it was truly beautiful.

Not only is this book intriguing, spectacularly interesting and amazingly spooky, what I loved about it most is its peculiarity.

It is different in so many ways, different from the normal teen-fiction and YA novels. And it is possibly the first dark fantasy and horror book I’ve ever loved.

I don’t know how else to describe this book. It is mind-blowing, original and all round peculiar. And actually, it was a lot better than I expected it to be. I wasn’t really sure what to think of this one, but it was astonishing. Honestly, the perfect book for me. I can’t wait for the movie!

The paragraph italicised in this review is an expert from the book, hand-picked by me. I do this for every review, but this one is special. It is possibly one of the most poetic and beautiful paragraphs I have ever come across, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to forget it very quickly.

As you can see, I’m a little shell-shocked at just how good this book was. Stars all around, guys.

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

Review: True Confessions of Adrian Mole etc. by Sue Townsend

On By Beth JonesIn Book ReviewLeave a comment

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Book: True Confessions of Adrian Mole etc.

By: Sue Townsend

Edition published: 1989

By: Methuen

Goodreads description: “Between the difficult ages of 16¾ and 21 and four months, Adrian Mole, diarist and intellectual, continues to confide his deepest thoughts and most moving experiences to the page. Against the background of a continuing but uneasy marriage between Mr and Mrs Mole, the young Adrian gets a job as a librarian, while LUSTING after Sharon Bott and pining for Pandora, who is studying Russian, Chinese and Serbo-Croat at Oxford. Later we find him installed at the Department of the Environment, helping to preserve the ozone layer.

Purchase on Amazon UK: Link

Purchase on Amazon US: Link

My rating: ☽☽☽/5

A diary of Adrian Mole’s experiences from the age of 16 3/4 – 21 1/3. Adrian is an undiscovered intellectual trying to make his mark on the world. This book follows his writing, love life, poetry, work and education, and his attempts to preserve the ozone layer.

Something dead strange has happened to Christmas. It’s just not the same as it used to be when I was a kid. In fact I’ve never really got over the trauma of finding out that my parents had been lying to me annually about the existence of Santa Claus.
To be, then, at the age of eleven, Santa Claus was a bit like God, all-seeing, all-knowing, but without the lousy things that God allows to happen: earthquakes, famines, motorway crashes. I would lie in bed under the blankets (how crude the word blankets sounds today when we are all conversant with the Tog rating of continental quilts), my heart pounding and palms sweating in anticipation of the virgin Beano album.

I’m not going to say I didn’t like this book, that would be a lie. There are parts of it that I in fact loved – Sue Townsend’s sense of humor is truly spectacular – but there was the fact that this book is slightly…medicore. I mean, not a lot really happens. It’s just a diary of a teenage boy from the 1980’s.

Aside from that, I did like the writing, and the diary entries. I just wish more had happened, as I have already forgotten some of the characters and events from this book.

I have to say, although at first I found Sue Townsend’s and Margaret Thatcher’s diaries a little pointless at first, I did also enjoy these. They both have some very interesting writing and points of views. I loved Sue’s page about England, and how what we Brit’s are like. Although it’s not necessarily praising our humble little country, it was insightful and, in fact, true.

Overall, this book was pretty good. Not a favorite of mine, nor a breakthrough in writing (for me, anyway), but certainly one I enjoyed.

-Beth

Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

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Book: The Sky is Everywhere

By: Jandy Nelson

Edition published: 2015

By: Walker Books

Goodreads description: Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to centre stage of her own life – and suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two boys. One boy takes Lennie out of her sorrow; the other comforts her in it. But the two can’t collide without Lennie’s world exploding…

Purchase on Amazon UK: Link

Purhcase on Amazon US: Link

My rating: ☽☽☽☽☽/5

There’s not much to say about Lennie Walker.

She’s 17.

Wuthering Heights obsessed.

Clarinet player.

Band geek.

Quel dork.

Hopeless romantic.

Poem writer.

And, as of four weeks ago,

Sisterless.

There were once two sisters,
Who were not afraid of the dark.
Because the dark was full of the others voice across the room,
Because even when the night was thick and starless,
They walked home together from the river,
Seeing who could last the longest without turning on her flashlight,
Not afraid.
Because sometimes in the pitch of the night,
They’d lie on their backs,
In the middle of the psth,
And look up until the stars came back.
And when they did,
They’d reach their arms up to touch them,
And did.

This book is beauty. There is no other way to describe it. It is pure beauty, written in words. Crammed between pages.

I am slightly like Lennie Walker, but mostly in the way that I am a hopeless romantic. So this book was absolute perfection for me. But even though I’m such a romantic that I even enjoy predictable boy meets girl novels, I’d much prefer an exciying, not always joyful rollercoaster of a journey. And that is exactly what this book gave me. A journey.

I got to follow Lennie in the perfect way, I could so easily see inside her mind, and she didn’t hold back with her thoughts. In this book it is is so easy to make a friend with Lennie, and simply because her experiences are so hard to convert into words without knowing Lennie as a person, it makes you feel so close to her.

Now I’ve shared my thoughts on this book, I think there is no better way to describe how special the writing is than sharing some quotes:

I’ve forgotten quite how luminous he is, like another species of human doesn’t have blood but light running through their veins.

I’m full on gawking, wondering what it would be like to be so cool and casual and fearless and passionate and so freaking alive.

That’s exactly it – I am crazy sad and, somewhere deep inside, all I want is to fly.

“That’s a misconception, Lennie, the sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”

When he plays all the flowers swap colors and years and decades and centuries of rain pour back into the sky.

You can tell your story any way you dann please. It’s your solo.

As you can see, Jandy Nelson writes like no other human being on this earth. If we lost her, we really would lose a freaking library. Possibly one of the most beautiful libraries on earth.

-Beth

Review: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

streetcar

Book/Play: A Streetcar Named Desire

Author/Playwright: Tennessee Williams

Edition Published: 1974

By: Signet Books

Goodreads Description: The story of Blanche DuBois and her last grasp at happiness, and of Stanley Kowalski, the one who destroyed her chance.

Purchase on Amazon US: Link

Purchase on Amazon UK: Link

My Rating: ☽☽☽/5

When Blanche goes to stay with her pregnant sister and brother-in-law, it is her last chance at being happy. With no money or relations, Blanche is lonely and relies on drink. But will living with her family save her, or destroy her?

I am sad to say I didn’t enjoy Streetcar very much. I did find the description and depth of setting and character outstanding, it has to be very well written in order to be performed on stage.

Stella: He’s on the road a good deal.
Blanche: Oh. Travels?
Stella: Yes.
Blanche: Good. I mean – isn’t it?
Stella [half to herself]: I can hardly stand it when he is away for a night…
Blanche: Why, Stella!Stella: When he’s away for a week I nearly go wild!
Blanche: Gracious!

To my understanding, Stanley is supposedly the bad guy in Streetcar. But I just felt that honestly, the characters are all just as bad as each other. Yes, Blanche had some bad stuff coming to her, but she did bring them on herself, to a point. I mean, what could she expect after very nearly undressing in front of Stanley, asking him to fasten up her dress, playfully squirting him with perfume and softly touching his thigh?

I honestly didn’t sympathize much with the characters. Although, yes, I would love to know what happened to them after the play, I don’t really care that much for them.

The plot was simple, nothing much really happened. I found the way the characters interacted with each other and how their personalities clashed very interesting, and I did find the book easy to read. But that’s due to the plot just not being very complex.

All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book. It was like a song that I expected to get better, but never actually did.

-Beth